Women's Economic Council

What Women's Economic Council does

Women's Economic Council (WEC) is a pan-Canadian registered charity (Charitable Registration #: 896568417RR0001), founded circa 1999 and operating across Canada with a 16-person team under fractional executive leadership. The organization is self-described as Canada's only national charity dedicated to women-centred community economic development, operating through three pillars: advocacy, research, and community building. WEC's mission is to advance economic security for women — particularly those facing systemic barriers shaped by poverty, race, gender, disability, and immigration status — by connecting community knowledge, frontline leadership, and policy infrastructure.

WEC delivers a portfolio of programs and research initiatives rather than a technology product. Active and historical offerings include the Weconomie Podcast, the Her Own Boss research report on barriers for racialized newcomer women entrepreneurs, the federal policy brief 'Strengthening Women's Economic Security in Canada,' the Her Mentors national mentorship program, the Think Women COVID-19 economic recovery initiative, the 50-30 Challenge ecosystem partnership with the Government of Canada, and the Community Futures Fellowship. A national survey of the women-serving community economic development ecosystem is scheduled for July 2026 as part of a strategic direction exercise. WEC reports having reached 3,500+ participants through capacity-building work and 1,200+ organizations accessing tools for strategic planning, governance, and financial development, with 98% of mentorship participants reporting empowerment and 78% reporting enhanced employment readiness.

WEC operates as a nonprofit with no proprietary technology platform. Revenue is generated through donations (including via the CanadaHelps platform) and likely grants tied to specific initiatives; programs and services are provided at no cost to partner organizations. GTM motion is community-led, relying on direct outreach, one-on-one consultation conversations, partner referrals, research publications, and government coalition engagement. The board of directors includes President/Chair Géraldine Jippé, Treasurer Elsa Vande Voorde, and Directors Rosette Joseph and Dr. Saôde Savary; fractional executives are CEO Céline Godard Aron and Development & Partnerships Manager Yasemin Erdoğan.

Name

Women's Economic Council

Legal name

Women's Economic Council

Website

https://womenseconomiccouncil.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Women's Economic Council is a pan-Canadian registered charity advancing women-centred community economic development through advocacy, research, and community building, serving women-serving organizations and women facing systemic barriers across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Advocacy and Community Economic Development

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD), Workforce Development & Inclusive Employment (Job Training, Placement) (BPAGALAB), Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

Keywords

• Community economic development
• Women's economic empowerment
• Nonprofit advocacy research
• Capacity building programs
• Gender equity policy

Headquarters

HQ city

National (Pan-Canadian)

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: As a registered Canadian charity (Registration #: 896568417RR0001), WEC receives donations through CanadaHelps platform. Donations support their advocacy, research, and community building initiatives for women-centred community economic development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women's Economic Council is a pan-Canadian registered charity that advances women-centred community economic development through three pillars: advocacy (infrastructure and resources for frontline leaders), research (community-based evidence on women's economic realities), and community building (connecting women-serving organizations coast to coast). It delivers programs such as the Her Own Boss research initiative, the Weconomie Podcast, the 50-30 Initiative, Community Futures Fellowship, Think Women, and Her Mentors mentorship program, all offered free to partner organizations and beneficiaries.

Product overview

Women's Economic Council operates as a pan-Canadian nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of research, advocacy, and community-building programs focused on women-centred community economic development. The organization does not offer a technology product or platform but delivers programs including research initiatives (Her Own Boss), advocacy programs (Weconomie Podcast, policy briefs), mentorship programs (Her Mentors), and community capacity-building initiatives (50-30, Community Futures Fellowship, Think Women). These programs work together to advance women's economic security through evidence-based research, policy advocacy, direct mentorship support, and collective organizing across Canada's women-serving organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Her Own Boss Research initiative examining barriers racialized newcomer women face in becoming entrepreneurs in Canada, drawing on community-based research across three regions with recommendations for policy improvement.
• Weconomie Podcast Audio show exploring entrepreneurship, financial sustainability, and economic security for women in Canada.
• Strengthening Women's Economic Security in Canada (Policy Brief) Policy brief presenting Women's Economic Council's recommendations to the federal government for building a more equitable economy, highlighting systemic barriers and proposing actionable solutions.
• 50-30 Initiative National leadership and capacity-building initiative helping organizations create inclusive and equitable workplaces as an ecosystem partner in the Government of Canada's 50-30 Challenge, supporting gender parity and equity-deserving group representation.
• Community Futures Fellowship Program investing in women-led, community-based solutions through fifteen Fellows across Canada who designed and launched projects including social enterprises and climate justice initiatives.
• Think Women National initiative bringing together organizations to advance a feminist and inclusive economic recovery from COVID-19, amplifying voices of women facing systemic barriers.
• Her Mentors National mentorship program offering personalized one-on-one mentorship for women from equity-deserving groups using a strengths-based, anti-racist approach to help overcome systemic barriers and build careers or businesses.
• National Survey Initiative Strategic initiative launching a national survey of the women-serving community economic development ecosystem to inform WEC's future direction, with planned survey deployment in July 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,500+ participants reached through capacity-building work
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Community Futures FellowshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024A step toward investing directly in women-led, community-based solutions. Fifteen Fellows across the country designed and launched projects that are already making tangible impacts, from social enterprises to climate justice initiatives.
• Government of Canada - 50-30 ChallengecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022WEC served as an ecosystem partner in the Government of Canada's 50-30 Challenge, a national leadership and capacity-building initiative (2022-2025) that helped organizations create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. WEC developed practical training, tools, and resources to support organizations in achieving gender parity and increasing representation of equity-deserving groups in leadership.
• Think Women InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021A national initiative (2021-2024) that brought together organizations across Canada to advance a feminist and inclusive economic recovery from COVID-19. Through collaboration, leadership, and capacity-building, the project amplified the voices of women facing systemic barriers—including low-income women, women with disabilities, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2+ communities—to inform policies, strengthen community organizations, and accelerate systems change.
• Her Mentors ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021A national mentorship program (2021-2024) offering personalized, one-on-one mentorship for women from equity-deserving groups. Using a strengths-based, anti-racist approach, it helps participants overcome systemic barriers, build careers or businesses, and expand professional networks.
• Standing Committee to the Status of WomencoreOthers · 1 January 2017WEC presented to the federal Standing Committee on the Status of Women with a policy brief titled 'Strengthening Women's Economic Security in Canada,' outlining recommendations for building a more equitable economy and highlighting systemic barriers facing women in the labour market.
• Women-serving organizations across CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEC partners with organizations that share their commitment to economic justice, whether co-designing research, joining an advocacy coalition, or co-delivering programs in communities. Current initiative involves one-on-one conversations with women-serving organizations to shape WEC's strategic direction.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• YWCA Canada: National federation of YWCAs providing direct services to women including housing, employment, and newcomer programs. Comparable to WEC as a national women's-serving umbrella organization advancing economic security and gender equity across Canada.
• Canadian Women's Foundation: Canada's national public foundation dedicated to gender equality, funding and supporting women-serving organizations across the country. Highly comparable to WEC in mission, national footprint, and reliance on foundation/individual donor funding to advance women's economic empowerment.
• Community Futures Network of Canada: National network of 267 Community Futures Development Corporations supporting rural community economic development across Canada. Highly comparable to WEC's community economic development orientation and pan-Canadian delivery model, particularly relevant given WEC's Community Futures Fellowship.

Broad incumbents

• Equality Canada: Coalition advancing equality through policy advocacy and public engagement. Comparable to WEC in advocacy and policy engagement posture, though focused more broadly on intersecting equality issues rather than specifically on women's economic development.
• Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE): Federal government department funding women's and gender-equity organizations nationally. Comparable to WEC as a major funder and convener in the same women's economic empowerment space, and an existing partner through the 50-30 Challenge.
• Catalyst: Global nonprofit working with employers to build inclusive workplaces and advance women in leadership. Comparable to WEC in workplace equity and gender parity focus, particularly with WEC's role in the 50-30 Challenge, but operates at a much larger scale and global footprint.

Others

• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: Progressive think tank producing research on Canadian economic and social policy. Comparable to WEC's research-to-policy advocacy pipeline and publication-driven model, though with a broader economic policy mandate rather than a women-centred focus.

Emerging players

• Feminist Policy Collective: Canadian policy organization advancing feminist economic and social policy through research and advocacy. Comparable to WEC as a smaller, policy-focused peer in the same feminist-economy space, with overlapping policy-brief-to-government outputs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/womenseconomiccouncil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women's Economic Council